[Lexicog] Etymology of Christmas, Yule, Weihnachten etc.

[Fritz Goerling]

>From Fritz Goerling

I am interested in how different languages name "Christmas" and where the
word
comes from. The word Christ comes from Greek xristos, meaning "the anointed
one,
the Lord's Anointed."  The suffix -mas evolved from the Old English word
maesse meaning "festival, feast day or mass."

In German it is "Weihnachten" which comes from 'wihenacht' (12th century)
= 'geweihte Nacht' (= holy/sacred/dedicated night). This night goes back to
the Germanic feast of the winter soltice and was reinterpretd in a Christian
way.

The origin of Scandinavian "Yule" is debated. For some it comes from
Germanic
'Jule' which meant a turning wheel. To others it dates back to the
pre-Christian
celebration of the winter solstice. Another possible origin is from the
Anglo Saxon early word "jule" which meant "feast time."

Noel in French comes from Latin natalis (dies) = birth (day).
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